Lead singers Rory Phillips and Gabe Hascall were also in the Fueled by Ramen group Slowreader following the band's second break-up, in 2002.

They recorded a demo tape and a split seven inch with Austin pop punk band Dynamite Boy, and they gained the attention of Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello who signed them to his start-up label Fueled by Ramen.

During this time, their music found its way onto compilations from labels large and small, including Moon Ska, Asian Man, Drive Thru, and many, many others.

They announced their intention to disband in late 1997, but did not play their "final" show until Super Bowl Sunday, 1998 along with Less Than Jake and Riverfenix (later Fenix*TX) at Liberty Lunch in Austin, Texas.

Due to royalty-related issues, later pressings removed the cover of Michael Jackson's "Ben" and Irving Berlin's "White Christmas".

Their new material retained the quiet/loud dynamic, heavy choruses, and vocal interplay that marked their previous releases, while ditching the ska guitar parts they felt they had grown out of.

In 2001, while recording songs for an EP, tensions with drummer Pat Elliott began to mount, and eventually he was asked to leave the band.

While they continued to tour and support the new EP, they were increasingly unhappy with the fans' reaction to their new material and the complaints over their growing aversion to ska.

Rory Phillips and Gabe Hascall subsequently put their focus back towards the acoustic songwriting that had helped them reconnect, and they recorded and toured as Slowreader.

He recorded, produced, and co-wrote demo songs with Dan Keyes of Recover under the name American Express, which would later come to be known as Young Love.

This, combined with speculation of album reissues through Paper + Plastick, had fueled rumors of some kind of reunion, which was ultimately announced on 2/13/12.